US3379441A - Football game with mobile players - Google Patents

Description

April 23, 1968 G E TH R ET AL 3,379,441

FOOTBALL GAME WITH MOBILE PLAYERS Filed April 25, 1966 3 She ts-Sheet 1 2 38 as T T Z Fl FIGJO. INVENTR 32 /36 Franklin G.Feo ther 8u I5 v Stewart B.M|l|he|m April 23, 1968 G FEATHER ET AL 3,379,441

FOOTBALL GAME WITH MOBILE PLAYERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fild April 25, 1966 'INVENTORS G.Feaih i Miii Franklin Siewcn' er& heim ATTORNEYS April 23, 1968 F. G. FEATHER ET AL 3,379,441

FOOTBALL GAME WITH MOBILE PLAYERS Filed April 25, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS Frankiin G. Feo'iher Siewaa'i B. Mifliheim United States Patent 3,379,441 FOGTBALL GAME WITH MOBILE PLAYERS Franklin G. Feather, 331 Park Heights Blvd, and Stewart B. Millheim, RD. 2, both of Hanover, Pa. 17331 Filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 544,790 8 Claims. ((31. 27394) The present invention relates to football players and game and has for an object to provide a game which may employ as few as two players or as many as twenty-two players all of which are under the control of adults or children and which may be played either on a game board or floor.

A further object of the present invention is to provide wheel mounted players which may be propelled either by inertia, spring motor, battery electric motor or manually directed into contact with one another.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of wheel mounted players which may be remotely controlled.

The basic unit of the game comprises two players, one of which is a ball carrier and the other of which is a tackler, the runner being in substantially an erect position and the taclzler being in a crouched position with arms extended prior to contact with the ball carrier which arms close about the ball carrier upon the head of the tackler contacting the ball carrier when there is relative motion between the two players. The tackler may actually knock the ball player over.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of two football players constructed in accordance with the present invention running toward each other but not yet in body contact with each other.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1 when body contact has been effected and the arms of the tackler have closed about the ball carrier.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the tackler of the present invention shown in solid and dash line positious.

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of the tackler of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the tackler player of FIGURES 3 and 4 with arms shown in extended solid and closed chain line positions.

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section taken on the lines 66 in FIGURE FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary transverse section with parts broken away and parts shown in section of one form of the spring loading for arm actuation of the tackler.

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view with parts broken away and parts shown in section of a player mobile carrier of the spring wind up type.

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to FIGURE 9 of a battery powered motor driven carrier.

FIGURE II is a modified form of player mobile carrier provided with remote control for imparting directions to the player carried thereon.

FIGURE 12 is a view similar to FIGURES 9 and 10 and is a friction powered type carrier.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and for the moment to FIGURES 1 and 2 in which a basic unit of the game employing two players is illustrated, aball carrier 10 in a substantially erect running position carried upon a mobile carrier 11 is shown being attacked 3,379,441 Patented Apr. 23, I968 by atackler 12 carried upon amobile carrier 13. Thearms 14 and 15 of the tackler are shown fully extended in FIG- URE 1 and after contact has been made the arms 14- and 15 close about the legs of the tackler as shown in FIGURE 2. Theplayers 10 and 12 are shown on aplaying field 16 which may be a separate game board provided with 10 yard markings as at 17 or the markings defining the playing field may be in the form of masking tape, played upon the floor of a recreation roomor the like.

Theball carrier 10 is secured to his mobile carrier 11 by a standard or attachingstem 18 connecting theplayer 10 to the carrier 11.

The details of the construction of the tackler are best shown in FIGURES 3 through 6 inclusive in which the tackler is shown attached to amobile carrier 13 bypivots 19 at the knee portions of this legs in such a manner that theleg portions 20 andhip portions 21 of the tackler may be rocked and bent forward about apivot 22. The torso portion of the tackler is shown in 23 and is provided with a cut-out portion 24 for receiving the head mounting 25 of the tackler. The head mount is pivoted to the torso portion by apivot 26 to permit rocking of the head unit as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 6. The head is biased to a forward position as shown in FIGURE 6, by aspring 27, one end of which is secured to thetorso portion 23 at 28 and the other end of which is secured to the head portion at 29. The head portion is constructed to pivot rearwardly. The head portion is also provided withshoulder portions 25 and 25' having right angle cutouts 25 and 25 which cooperate with complemental cut-outs 14 and 15 ofarms 14 and 15 respectively. Thehead portion 25 has aneck 30 which supports a head andhelmet 31. Thearms 14 and 15 are mounted to thetorso 23 onpivots 32 and 33 about which are carriedcoil springs 34 and 35, one end of each spring being imbedded in the torso and the other end of each spring being imbedded in thearms 14 and I5 respectively to bias the arms normally to the closed position of FIGURE 5. Thearms 14 and 15 are extended and maintained in the solid open line positions or" FIGURES 4 and 5 with cut-outs ofarms 14 and 15 abutting the cut-outs 25 and 25 of the shoulder portions and which contact is maintained under the influence ofspring 27.

As shown in FIGURES 7 and 8 the spring biasing of thearms 14 and 15 has been modified by placement of acoil spring 36 through thecavity 37 of the head portion of the tackler such that theends 36 and are secured to thearms 14 and I5 respectively forwardly of thepivots 32 and 33.

In playing the game, when thetackler 12 is directed toward theball carrier 10 as shown in FIGURE 1, and the head and thehelmet 31 of the tackler engages the body portion of theball carrier 10 thehead portion 25 is rocked rearwardly as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 6, move theshoulder portions 25 and 25 out of contact with the arms which permit thesprings 34, 35 to cause closure of the arms about the ball carrier as shown in FIGURE 2 and if the tackler has sufiicient momentum, he will bring the ball carrier down.

Now the mobile carriers for the two players may be identical and will consist of abase member 38 havingaxles 39 and 4%) journal-led therein which axles have connected theretowheels 41. In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 9 the carrier is driven by aspring motor 42 driving a pinion secured toshaft 39. The spring motor may be wound by a key 44.

The carrier of FIGURE 10* is substantially identical to that of FIGURE 9 with the exception that anelectrical motor 45 drivesshaft 39 to impart rotary motion towheels 41*. Themotor 45 receives its power frombattery 46 and is under the control of aswitch 47.

Referring now to FIGURE 11, thecarrier 38 has abattery unit 46 similar to that of FIGURE 10 for driving anelectrical motor 45 which driveswheels 41 throughshaft 39 Therear wheels 41* are directional and may be turned as shown in dotted lines through arack 48 andpinion 49, drive to impart direction through a Bowden cable 50 under the influence of a steering wheel 51. The carrier of FIGURE 12 is the basically simple friction type wherein thewheels 41 receive their driving energy from aflywheel 52 which imparts its energy to the wheels through a chain of cogs and pinions in a conventional well-known manner.

In play, once the field has been staked out by the placement offield defining lines 17 in the form of the embodiments illustrated, the ball carrier is then either wound up as is the carrier in the form of FIGURE 9 or theswitch 47 is closed as the carrier is in the form of FIGURE 10 and the player is released to make his run down the field toward the goal line.

The tack-ler has his arms cocked to the open solid line position of FIGURE 5 and FIGURE 1 and the carrier unit is energized to direct him. The player of the game using the tackler then aims him for interception with the ball carrier. When thehead 31 of the tackler encounters the body of theball carrier 10, the head portion pivots about thepivot 26 t0 the position shown in chain lines in FIGURE 6 thereby releasing the arms from the extended position and under the influence of either the coil springs 34, or thespring 36, the arms are directed about the leg portion of the ball carrier as shown in FIGURE 2 and dependent upon the speed of the tackler and the speed of the ball carrier, the tackler may bring the ball carrier down.

Many forms of propulsion means for propelling thecarriers 11 and 13 may be employed. Thecarriers 11 and 13 may be either free as shown in FIGURES 9, l0 and 12 or captive and directional as shown in FIGURE 11.

Although we have disclosed herein the best form of the invention known to us at this time, we reserve the right to all such modifications and changes as may come within the scope of the following claims.

What we claim is:

1. In combination a pair of football players one of which is a substantially erect ball carrier and the other of which is a crouched tackler, mobile means supporting and moving the ball carrier over a game area, mobile means supporting and moving the tackler over the game area with his arms extended, and means associated with the head of the tackler and arms of the tackler so that upon the head of the tackler contacting the ball carrier, the

arms of the tackler will close about the ball carrier and bring the ball carrier down.

2. A pair of football players as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile means for supporting and moving each player over the game area is a wheel driven base powered by a battery driven motor.

3. A pair of football players as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile means for supporting and moving each player over a game area is a wheel driven base powered by a spring motor.

4. A pair of football players as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile means for supporting and moving each player over a game area is a wheel driven base powered by a fly wheel type friction driven motor.

5. A pair of football players as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile means for supporting and moving each player over a game area is a wheel driven base having a pair of remote controlled steering wheels and being powered by a battery driven motor.

6. A football tackler as claimed in claim 1 wherein the arms of the tackler have undercut portions engageable with undercut portions in the head of the tackler which read is biased to a forward portion, said arms being spring biased to a normally closed position but being retained in an open position by engagement of the undercut portions of the arms with the undercut portions of the head, the arms being trig ered to a closed position upon rocking of the head portion to disengage the arms from engagement with the head to permit the spring bias to take over and close the arms.

'7. A tackler as claimed in claim 6 wherein the arms are provided with pivots about which are carried coil springs one end of each of which is imbeddcd in the torso portion of the tackler and the other end of each of which is imbedded in each respective arm.

8. A tackler as claimed in claim 6 wherein the head portion has a cavity through which a spring passes, each end of the spring being secured to an arm forward of the pivot point of the arm.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,905,303 4/1933 Potter 273-94 2,616,696 11/1952 Field 27394 2,775,848 1/1957 Isaacson 46106 3,132,864 5/1964 Glass et a1. 4699 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

P. E. SHAPIRO, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN COMBINATION A PAIR OF FOOTBALL PLAYERS ONE OF WHICH IS A SUBSTANTIALLY ERECT BALL CARRIER AND THE OTHER OF WHICH IS A CROUCHED TACKLER, MOBILE MEANS SUPPORTING AND MOVING THE BALL CARRIER OVER A GAME AREA, MOBILE MEANS SUPPORTING AND MOVING THE TACKLER OVER THE GAME AREA WITH HIS ARMS EXTENDED, AND MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HEAD OF THE TACKLER AND ARMS OF THE TACKLER SO THAT UPON THE HEAD OF THE TACKLER CONTACTING THE BALL CARRIER, THE ARMS OF THE TACKLER WILL CLOSE ABOUT THE BALL CARRIER AND BRING THE BALL CARRIER DOWN.

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